1. Lighting controls

Lights can be shut off during non-working hours by automatic controls, such as occupancy sensors which turn off lights when a space becomes unoccupied. Manual controls can also be used in addition to automatic controls to save additional energy in smaller areas.

The payback period for lighting control systems is generally less than 2 years.

2. Replace T-12 tubes by T-8 tubes

In industry, typically T-12 tubes have been used. T-12 refers to the diameter in 1/8 inch increments (T-12 means 12/8 inch or 3.8 cm diameter tubes). The initial output for these lights is high, but energy consumption is also high.

They (T-12) also have extremely poor efficiency, lamp life, lumen depreciation, and color rendering index. Because of this, maintenance and energy costs are high.

Replacing T-12 lamps with T-8 lamps approximately doubles the efficacy of the former, thereby saves electricity.

Where color rendition is critical, metal halide lamps can replace mercury or fluorescent lamps with an energy savings of 50%. Where color rendition is not critical, high pressure sodium lamps offer energy savings of 50 to 60% compared to mercury lamps.

4. Replace metal halide (HID) with High-intensity fluorescent lights

Traditional HID lighting can be replaced with high-intensity fluorescent (HIF) lighting. These new systems incorporate high-efficiency fluorescent lamps, electronic ballasts and high-efficacy fixtures that maximize output to the work place.

6. Optimization of plant lighting (Lux optimization)

In production and non-production departments

In many plants the lighting system is not specifically designed for the process. There are lux standards for each type of textile process.

For instance, the required lux for weaving is usually higher than that of wet-processing. Even within just one production process, the required lux varies by the process step.

For example, in a cotton spinning process, the required lux in the blow room should be much lower than that of ring frame section. If the lighting provided is higher than the standard (required lux) for any part of the production, this results in a waste of electricity.

Therefore, the plant engineers should optimize the lighting system based on the standard lux specific for each process step.

Cotton spinning production line of clothing manufacturer in Bangladesh (photo credit: knitfab.com)

7. Optimum use of natural sunlight

Many plants do not use natural sunlight to an optimum level. In addition to optimizing the size of the windows, transparent sheets can be installed at the roof in order to allow more sunlight to penetrate into the production area.

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Electrical engineer, programmer and founder of EEP. Highly specialized for design of LV/MV switchgears and LV high power busbar trunking (<6300A) in power substations, commercial buildings and industry facilities. Professional in AutoCAD programming.

5 Comments

how can i detect occupancy in room to control lights, I used PIR but it only detects change in temperature, then i also tried IR sensors on the door but their range of detection is very small.
please advise how can i improve the circuit or add any thing in it so that i may be able to detect human presence in room.

today we retrofit T8 fluorescent with T5 high output. and nowadays start to appear on the market tubular LED fixtures who DO NOT NEED A CHOKE at all and I replaced in a big kitchen for a wedding parlor , instead of 4 rows of T8 lamps I put 2 rows of T5 and got more light than before. in street lighting instead of energy eaters (400W +magnetic choke) HID lamps on poles spaced at around 25 meters , I use 56W LED lamps with no extra losses! the cost of those fixtures is going fast down on the market, the only problem is no interchangibility is possible. Maybe IEEE should issue a standard for those LED fixtures.